Spratt wins stage 2 of the Women's Tour Down Under

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Defending champion Amanda Spratt (Mitchelton-Scott) stamped her authority on the 2020 Australia’s Women’s Tour Down Under during Stage 2, taking the sprint to the line ahead of her two breakaway companions Ruth Winder (Trek-Segafredo) and Liane Lippert (Team Sunweb).

With the leaders ochre jersey also now in hand, the Australian champion is well-positioned in her pursuit of a fourth overall victory, which would continue the Mitchelton-Scott dominance of the South Australian ProSeries race. Spratt’s victory leaves her with a four second lead on the overall, ahead of Winder. Lippert is five seconds back, then it is teammate Grace Brown at 12 seconds and former leader Chloe Hosking (Rally Cycling) with a 21 second gap.

The pivotal moments of the 115-kilometre stage from Murray Bridge to Birdwood came with more than 20 kilometres to go, when Australia’s only Women’s WorldTour team put the pressure on and split the peloton. That left Spratt out the front with teammates Lucy Kennedy and Grace Brown plus Winder and Lippert.

“We had a really strong team plan today,” Spratt said after the race. “We knew it could be a hard final but we had to make it hard.”

Kennedy and Brown paid for their efforts, ultimately leaving Spratt alone in the front group with Winder and Lippert as the trio faced up to a sprint for the line to decide which step on the podium they would take.

“I think on paper normally they are faster than me but it was just such a hard race and I know I have a really good sprint in that situation,” said Spratt.

“Tomorrow is a really, really tough stage around Stirling. It’s nice to have this win today but it's definitely not over. Everything could completely change tomorrow.”

Saturday's 109-kilometre third stage from Nairne to Stirling has repeated climbs on the final circuit and finishes with a long uphill run to the line. 

This plays into the hands of riders like Spratt, that thrive on the climbs but it isn’t so steep that you can confidently limit the list of potential winners to just the best climbers. 

How it unfolded

Rolling out from the riverside hub of Murray Bridge, the peloton faced another day of mild temperatures but the weather would still throw up some challenges, with a strong breeze enough to get teams talking of the potential for some action in the cross winds.

The pace was initially high, with a tailwind pushing the peloton out of Murray Bridge and towards the Adelaide hills, but when the tailwind became a cross wind, riders started falling off the back and a splits occurred. But it was short lived and the peloton was all together again not far from the first sprint of the day at 29 kilometres in, which was won by Anastasiia Chursina (Ale BTC Ljubljana).

As the course travelled through some of the communities that were affected by the bushfires in December and towards the feed zone, the pace eased. This was the calm before the storm to be seen on the climbs ahead.

The pace picked up again with the approach of the second sprint at 80 kilometres into the race. Team Sunweb helped set up their rider Leah Kirchmann to take top points, ahead of the ochre jersey clad winner of stage 1, Chloe Hosking (Rally Cycling). Then came an opportunistic attack from Tiff Cromwell (Canyon-SRAM) but her wheel was quickly covered, as there was a reluctance to let the rider with a wealth of local knowledge get away.

With only about 30 kilometres to go and the hills approaching, the Mitchelton-Scott squad of defending champion Spratt started to take control. As the road started to head upwards the pressure was put on and the peloton started to spread and split till the lead group of five formed.

Behind the front group of three Mitchelton-Scott riders, Winder and Lippert, there were another six chasing and then the reduced peloton, which contained Hosking. It wasn’t long before Spratt tried to whittle the numbers down further, launching an attack from the front group. The two riders from other teams couldn’t be budged, but Kennedy dropped off the back and Brown kept yo-yoing before finally letting the lead trio ride away.

Lippert lead Spratt and Winder over the Queen of the Mountain point at eleven kilometres from the finish. At this point the three leaders seemed happy to stick together until the final sprint for the line.

The experienced Spratt positioned herself on the back of the trio as the finish approached. The Australian then leapt out from behind her breakaway companions, and while Winder tried to move around Lippert and follow Spratt she just couldn’t muster enough speed.

Brown rolled in just two seconds back to take fourth and then the chase group and what remained of the peloton started to roll in. Australia’s freshly crowned under 23 national road champion Jaime Gunning (Specialized Women’s Racing) lead the charge to take fifth, just 13 seconds behind Spratt. Hosking finished among the reduced peloton, 24 seconds back in 19th place.

Lippert’s efforts in the breakaway left her with both the Queen of the Mountain and best young rider jerseys. Kirchmann’s efforts on the road meant she took the sprinters competition lead from Hosking. Brown, who nearly caught the lead three again at the end, was awarded the Most Competitive Rider.

Results

General classification